The following disclosure relates generally to systems for displaying visual images and, more particularly, to systems for displaying visual images to passengers in aircraft and other vehicles.
Many transport aircraft include video screens that allow passengers to view movies, newscasts, and other content during flight. Some of these screens are centrally located above an aisle or other location for viewing by a group of passengers. Others are mounted to seatbacks for viewing by individual passengers seated directly behind the screens. Providing such passengers with individual screens allows them to personally select the video content they wish to view during flight. This option can make the flight more enjoyable for such passengers, especially if it is a long flight.
Seatback video screens are typically mounted approximately eight inches below eye level of the viewing passenger. This offset can result in a downward viewing angle of approximately 20 degrees. This downward angle can increase to as much as 34 degrees if the seat to which the screen is mounted is fully reclined. To correct the viewing angle, seatback video screens are often mounted in housings and configured to pivot about a horizontal axis within the housing so that they can be directed upwardly toward the viewing passenger.
The housings of conventional seatback video screens are often relatively deep to accommodate the full range of screen movement. For example, while the video screens themselves are typically less than one inch thick, the housings often measure from 3 to 4 inches deep. As a result, the seatbacks in which these housings are mounted can be up to 3 inches thicker than would otherwise be required to accommodate fixed (i.e., non-pivoting) video screens. This increase in seatback thickness represents a 10-15% reduction in space between the passenger and the back of the seat in front of him or her. This loss of space can impede passenger movement into and out of the seat. In addition, this loss of space can make using a laptop computer or eating from a fold-down tray table somewhat awkward, particularly when the seat to which the tray table is mounted is fully reclined.
The interior surfaces of aircraft passenger cabins generally flow fore and aft, parallel to the normal viewing perspective of passengers. Such interior surfaces can include, for example, the bottom surfaces of overhead luggage bins. Because of the orientation of these surfaces, video screens mounted flush to them may be somewhat difficult for passengers to view. To overcome this problem, video screens have been mounted on these surfaces with mechanical means that allow the video screens to pivot downwardly to a position more suitable for viewing. In addition to adding mechanical complexity and weight, this pivoting feature can also create a head strike concern when the video screen is in the lowered position. As a result, use of these video screens is generally not allowed during takeoff and landing. Unfortunately, viewing landscape camera images during these phases of flight is often popular among passengers. A further shortcoming associated with such video screens is that they tend to obstruct the visual flow of the interior architecture when rotated down into the viewing position.
Aspects of the invention are directed to visual display systems that can accommodate off-angle viewing. In one embodiment, a visual display system includes a visual display device having a display screen configured to display visual images. The display screen can at least generally face a first direction. The visual display system can further include an optical tilting device at least generally overlaying the display screen. The optical tilting device can be configured to optically tilt the visual images on the display screen away from the first direction toward a second direction to facilitate viewing of the visual images in the second direction. In one aspect of this embodiment, the optical tilting device can include a refracting lens, such as a Fresnel lens. In another embodiment, the optical tilting device can include a Fresnel prism.
In a further embodiment, the visual display system can also include an image distorter operatively connected to the visual display device. The image distorter can be configured to electronically distort the visual images on the display screen to compensate for optical distortion resulting from the angle of the display screen relative to the viewer.
In yet another embodiment, a method of manufacturing a display system includes providing a visual display device having a display screen configured to display visual images. The display screen can at least generally face a first direction. The method can further include overlaying the display screen with an optical tilting device configured to optically tilt the visual images on the display screen toward a second direction that is angled relative to the first direction. In one aspect of this embodiment, the display screen can be mounted to a portion of a passenger seating area in a vehicle to accommodate off-angle viewing by one or more passengers in the second direction.